A new sign that our current financial woes are unlike any that have come before them: Microsoft announced today that it will be cutting up to 5,000 workers over the next 18 months--the first time in the software giant's 34-year history that is has undertaken company-wide cuts. CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement that Microsoft is "not immune to the effects of the economy." Microsoft's losses are due both to a slump in PC sales and the popularity of "nextbooks," cheap laptops that come bundled with Windows XP instead of Vista, or no Microsoft software at all.
Read it at Financial Times
